The present invention relates to a vehicle body for a passenger motor vehicle, having a side sill and a floor panel which are connected to each other.
DE 102010030515 A1 discloses, for example, a body of a passenger motor vehicle, which has two side sills between which a floor having hollow chambers extends, wherein the floor is fastened to inner side walls of the side sills via mounting brackets. The side sills are formed in the manner of a shell from a carbon fiber reinforced plastic, and the floor is formed from a light metal alloy. Furthermore, energy absorption elements are accommodated in the cavities of the side sills in order to be able to adequately absorb energy in the event of a collision from the side.
Furthermore, a conventional vehicle body which has a side sill consisting of an inner plate and an outer plate and also a reinforcing plate, which plates form a closed hollow profile, is shown in DE 102011085590 A1. The reinforcing plate forms an inner side wall of the side sill, wherein a floor plate is secured on the side wall of the reinforcing plate.
In general, known side sills serve to adequately protect a vehicle interior, in particular a passenger cell, in the event of a lateral collision and to dissipate collision energy. For this purpose, a side sill has to have sufficient strength and sufficient collision energy absorption capability.
It is the object of the present invention to provide a vehicle body with a side sill and a floor panel, wherein a strength and collision energy absorption capability of the vehicle body, in particular of the side sill, in relation to a side collision is sufficiently high with little weight.
This and other objects are achieved by a vehicle body comprising a side sill and a floor panel. According to the present invention, the vehicle body has a side sill which has an upper wall and a lower wall and which is designed in the manner of a hollow profile. Furthermore, the vehicle body according to the invention has a floor panel, wherein the side sill and the floor panel are connected to each other. According to the present invention, the floor panel is designed so as to overlap the upper wall and/or the lower wall of the side sill. In particular, the floor panel overlaps the upper wall and/or the lower wall in a transverse direction of the vehicle body and in a longitudinal direction of the vehicle body.
A vehicle body according to the present invention is preferably a motor vehicle body and, in particular, a passenger motor vehicle body, wherein the vehicle body preferably has a passenger cell which is formed between what is referred to as a front end and what is referred to as a rear end.
A side sill according to the present invention is a lower, outer lateral longitudinal member which extends in a region between a front wheel house and a rear wheel house—between the front end and the rear end.
Customarily, a vehicle body of this type has a left side sill and a right side sill between which a single floor panel or a plurality of floor panels extends or extend.
The side sill preferably has a closed hollow profile.
By use of the overlapping arrangement according to the invention of the side sill and the floor panel in the x direction (longitudinal direction of the body) and y direction (transverse direction of the body), i.e. overlapping an upper wall and a lower wall, the floor panel forms a reinforcement of the hollow profile of the side sill and therefore increases the strength and collision energy absorption capacity of the side sill. By way of the arrangement according to the invention of the floor panel, the side sill can be, for example, advantageously designed to be lighter. An additional reinforcing element of the side sill or an energy absorption element can be omitted or can be designed to be lighter than in the case in which the floor panel does not, as proposed according to the invention, overlap the side sill. The present invention therefore also makes it possible to reduce the number of parts. In the event of a lateral collision, the floor panel, by overlapping the side sill, already contributes to collision energy absorption at an early point in the collision, i.e. at an early point in a deformation of the side sill.
According to a preferred development of the vehicle body of the present invention, the floor panel extends substantially over an entire width of the side sill, i.e. a width of the side sill in the y direction. In other words, the floor panel is preferably designed so as to overlap the upper wall and/or the lower wall of the side sill preferably substantially over an entire width of the side sill.
By this means, during the lateral collision, a collision opponent not only strikes directly against the side sill, but also directly against the floor panel, which can therefore contribute directly to absorbing the collision energy by plastic deformation and/or small-scale brittle fracture.
The floor panel can preferably extend as far as an outer side wall of the side sill. The floor panel can advantageously be connected to the outer side wall.
The expression outer side wall of the side sill means the wall which is arranged facing an outer side of the vehicle body. By the floor panel extending as far as the outer side wall, an energy absorption capacity of the floor panel itself can be used advantageously even at the beginning of a deformation of the side sill, i.e. even during deformation of the outer side wall of the side sill.
By this means, a reinforcing and strength-increasing effect of the floor plate can be particularly readily realized.
According to a further preferred development, the floor panel is arranged lying against an outer side or an inner side of the upper wall or of the lower wall of the side sill and is connected to the corresponding wall, i.e. to the upper wall or to the lower wall.
The outer side of the upper wall is the side which faces an upper side of the vehicle body, while the inner side of the upper wall is the side which faces a lower side of the vehicle body and, in particular, faces an inner chamber of the hollow profile.
In the case of the vehicle body according to the present invention, the floor panel is preferably arranged between an upper wall and a lower wall of the side sill. The floor panel can additionally advantageously penetrate an inner side wall of the side sill. In other words, the inner side wall can be designed in two parts, with an upper inner side wall and a lower inner side wall, wherein the floor panel runs between the upper inner side wall and the lower inner side wall. The inner side wall is advantageously connected here to the floor panel. Furthermore, the floor panel can additionally penetrate an outer side wall of the side sill. In the same manner as the inner side wall, the outer side wall can be formed with an upper outer side wall and a lower outer side wall, wherein the floor panel runs between the upper inner side wall and the lower inner side wall. The inner side wall is advantageously connected here to the floor panel.
In the case in which the floor panel penetrates both the inner side wall and the outer side wall, the side sill can advantageously be formed from an upper half shell of the hollow profile and a lower half shell of the hollow profile, wherein the floor panel is arranged between the half shells.
In the case in which the floor panel penetrates the inner side wall of the side sill or additionally penetrates the outer side wall of the side sill, the floor panel can be arranged at a distance from the upper wall and from the lower wall.
By this means, the floor panel divides an interior space, i.e. a hollow chamber, of the side sill into an upper region and a lower region and, therefore, advantageously increases the strength and an energy absorption capacity of the side sill in combination with the floor panel.
In an alternative embodiment, the floor panel can also replace the upper wall or the lower wall of the side sill. In other words, in this case, the floor panel forms the upper wall or the lower wall of the side sill. The side sill is designed in this case as an open hollow profile, wherein the floor panel forms a closed hollow profile here together with the side sill.
The floor panel can be formed in multiple layers, in particular in the form of what is referred to as a sandwich construction, since a construction of this type has a higher energy absorption capacity.
According to a particularly preferred embodiment, the floor panel has an upper layer and a lower layer which are at a distance from each other.
By this means, in the event of a side collision, buckling of the floor panel is more difficult and therefore the strength and the energy absorption capacity of the floor panel are increased. In addition, reinforcement of the side sill is thereby improved.
In the case of the floor panel with the upper layer and the lower layer, a foam layer can preferably be formed as an intermediate layer between the upper layer and the lower layer. Any known foamed material can preferably be used in this case. A foam layer as the intermediate layer is light and stabilizes the upper layer and the lower layer with respect to each other, and therefore the above-described buckling of the floor panel is even better prevented.
An intermediate layer composed of a honeycomb material, i.e. a honeycomb layer, can be arranged as an alternative or in addition to the foam layer. The honeycomb material can be formed from plastic or else from a metallic material, such as a light metal. Analogously to the above-described foam layer, a honeycomb layer of this type has advantages in respect of making buckling of the floor panel more difficult and stabilizing the upper layer in relation to the lower layer.
In addition or as a further alternative, any other spacer element can also be arranged as an intermediate layer between the upper layer and the lower layer, wherein the spacer element ensures that the upper layer and the lower layer are at a distance from each other, and is sufficiently light. For example, a suitable spacer element is a profiled plate or a plurality of profiled plates. The spacer element can have a U profile or a V profile.
The floor panel can also be provided with additional reinforcing elements on one side of the floor panel or on both sides which are designed in such a manner that they form hollow profiles together with the floor panel.
This is likewise advantageous in respect of preventing buckling of the floor panel in the event of a side collision and therefore improves the energy absorption capacity of the vehicle body as a whole during the side collision.
According to an advantageous development of the present invention, the side sill can be formed from a fiber composite. Any fiber composite which is used in vehicle manufacturing and/or body manufacturing is suitable as the fiber composite. A carbon fiber composite is particularly preferred because of its high strength.
The fiber composite can be formed in particular with endless fibers which further increase the strength of the side sill.
According to a further preferred embodiment, the floor panel is formed at least in regions from a fiber composite. Also in this case, any fiber composite which is advantageous for use in vehicle bodies is conceivable, wherein a carbon fiber composite is particularly preferred. The floor panel can be completely composed of fiber composite. However, the floor panel can also be composed in multi-layered form from different materials in a mixed construction. For example, in the case in which the floor panel has an upper layer and a lower layer, one of the two layers can be formed from fiber composite. Both layers can also be formed from fiber composite. A layer arranged in-between, i.e. an intermediate layer, can also be formed from a different material, such as, for example, in the case of the above-described foam layer or honeycomb layer or spacer layer.
Endless fibers are particularly preferably used as fibers in the fiber composite.
Endless fibers are particularly advantageous in comparison to short fibers or long fibers in respect of the strength of the floor panel. In particular, it is particularly simple in the case of endless fibers to arrange them in a specific manner in one or more defined directions, and therefore stressing due to a side collision can be particularly easily countered.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of one or more preferred embodiments when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.